Friends and Family Members

by Holly Bowne
(Midwest)

Listening to the daily stories and reminiscences of my children, hubby and friends usually provides me with excellent starting points for fiction, essay and article ideas!

Comments for Friends and Family Members

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May 06, 2010
 A rich source of creative writing ideas
by: Anonymous

Yes, the reminiscences of others can be a rich source of ideas.

A good tip that I heard in a radio interview with the novelist A. S. Byatt: she suggests creating characters who are composites of several real people, rather than based on a single person. This approach prevents the character from being identifiable as a specific person (thus protecting the real person's privacy), and also prevents the author from becoming overly influenced by the real person's life/events. It moves the characters into the realm of fiction, where they can take on a life of their own.

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